Welcome to Storybrooke
by Rihaan
Summary: Celebrating her 21st Birthday, Emma and Lily go on a road trip, and come across the small town of Storybrooke, Maine.
1. Frozen in Time

A Patron Drabble Commission. ($5)

* * *

 **Part I**

"Welcome to Storybrooke," Emma muttered to herself, smirking at the sign as she passed by it.

Honestly, it was the first piece of evidence that told her this city actually existed once. But when the postcard came to her house, and she got zero results online for it, she knew she should at least check it out. Maybe is was her sick sense of adventure, but it called to her like nothing else could.

Her new yellow Volkswagen bug, freshly gifted to her by some poor sap that chose not to lock their door that day (really, they made it way too easy for her), held steady as she rolled into the apparent town. She didn't plan on keeping it long, but it was... cute, and so far, reliable.

It was an odd name, she had to admit. Storybrooke, Maine. It was so far on the outskirts of the state, she wasn't even sure if it was on most official maps.

Lily was against the idea, but Lily was against a lot of things.

Emma peeked over, and her best friend was still asleep. She smirked, just a bit. It'll be a nice little surprise, she figured.

Lily was the yin to her yang, she figured. Or, more accurate, the yang to her yin. They were both troubled teens, Lily being her enabler, Emma being Lily's conscience, but now that they were twenty-one, it was time they graduated to a whole new level of trouble.

They had always wanted to go on a road trip. Thank goodness Lily was bad with directions, or she'd know they were in Maine. " _Nothing is exciting in Maine. Unless you're really interested in seeing the world's biggest boot or whatever, let that imaginary city go._ "

"You never listen," Lily muttered, blinking her eyes open.

"It exists," Emma defended herself. "So it's not like, some prank or a haunted house invitation."

"Or a really elaborate one." She yawned. "Whatever. We went to Atlanta, so I guess fair's fair. Just don't whine about it when it sucks."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad."

"Oh, really? What time is it, then?"

She instinctually glanced at the car radio, before sighing tirelessly. Whoever it was didn't bother to lock the car, but had the forethought to unplug the plugin radio. Or, perhaps it was stolen as well. She checked her watch. "Eighteen after nine."

Lily chuckled. "Fucking ghost town. Check out the Clock Tower."

Emma knew it was a ghost town. It looked like she drove through half the city already, and she hadn't seen a single soul. Still, leaning down slightly to look up at the high building what looked like the tallest building this quaint little town had to offer, a proudly beaming '8:15' was presented.

She knew she shouldn't, but she laughed at the absurdity. "Oh, God," she shook her head, her smile bright, "We might die here."

Her friend laughed with her.

* * *

There didn't seem to be many twenty-four hour places, but at least the ice cream parlor was open. _Any Given Sundae_ , a pun they appreciated, was lit up in the night like a beacon, calling for them. She hadn't had ice cream in years, so it was obviously a calling.

And the friendly face that they met as they passed through the doors, called for Emma in a familiar way.

"She's staring at you," Lily whispered, hiding her lips behind her strawberry cone.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Shut up. She's just impressed to meet another natural blonde. Or another _person_ , for that matter." There didn't seem to be a reason for any place in this town to be open all night, but there was no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth. She was just thankful for small miracles.

"I feel like she's losing money, keeping the store open at night."

"Maybe she kept it open for lil' ol' me?" She wondered out loud, and looked over to the older, somewhat familiar lady. When she finally looked up again, aware of the intense stare, Emma winked.

The attractive woman, whose name escaped her at the moment, tilted her head, gave a small smirk, and winked back.

Emma almost coughed up chocolate milkshake through her nose, and Lily began to pat her on the back. "You weren't ready," she simpered, shaking her head. "You just weren't ready."

With reddened, teary eyes, she glared at her friend. "Not funny," she wheezed.

"I'm not laughing. But she seems to have you in stitches."

Eventually, they settled down, and the woman disappeared to the back. "She look familiar?" Emma quietly wondered, looking at the spot she once held.

Lily shrugged. "Cute, though, if you're looking for a MILF. Gonna give it a shot?"

The blonde squinted at her. "I can't tell if you're serious or not."

She nibbled at the bottom of the cone. "The part where I called her a MILF, or the part where you should go for it? Because, you know... I'd hit it."

Emma let out a long-suffering sigh. "I honestly don't know if you're giving me a headache, or if she's giving me a brain freeze." She blinked. "Wait."

"What?"

"Ingrid?"

"Uh, no. Lily."

She blinked, clueless. Lily found that her friend did that a lot. "I remember... Ingrid. She was... she almost adopted me? _Fuck_ , my head hurts!"

The brunette took a pause out of sucking the ice cream through the bottom of the waffle cone. Emma never really talked about her years before they met in the convenience store. If she was making some kind of joke, then it was a terrible setup. "Okay. I'll bite. What the hell are you talking about?"

"She... she was the one person... who I thought could be a mother." Her eyes flashed an icy blue. "Oh! It's... she's... ouch-ouch-ouch-ouch-ouchie – "

Lily hugged Emma around the middle as she grabbed at her head, shuddering. "What the fuck was in that milkshake?"

"It's not the milkshake," she grunted. "It's a, umm... trigger."

"Is this..." She leaned in closer. "Is this a _magic_ thing?"

"No, I usually regain long-lost memories off a chocolate fucking milkshake." She didn't say it with the spite she used to, no matter how playful, and that disturbed Lily. "INGRID! Get _back_ here!"

* * *

The older blonde had snuck out the back. Emma didn't know why her almost-adoptive mother was avoiding her. The last time they hung out, it was awkward. But a lot of things have changed since then.

She pressed her finger to the display glass, and began writing. "Fucking editing my memories," she muttered to herself, "like I'm fucking software. You've got some explaining to do."

"Are you leaving a memo or a foreword?" Lily wondered aloud, coming from the back. "I was gonna go for seconds, but it's all a lie. No ice cream. A lot of toppings, though. Got us some gummy bears, Oreos and chocolate chunks to go."

Emma stopped writing. "What about the M&M's?"

Lily blinked innocently. "What M&M's?"

"Woman, don't you dare hide the M&M's from me, I will lock you in the freezer."

"You haven't been listening; no freezer."

She raised an eyebrow. "Haven't you been _watching_? I'll make one."

The words she left crystallized on the window, before they hardened. Emma blew on her finger, before walking out of the store, Lily quickly following.

* * *

Feedback greatly appreciated. What can you expect next? What do you want to expect next?


	2. Talk About a Birthday Present, Amirite?

Sorry if it does sound a little disjointed at places, but this is an attempt at a new writing style. I find myself drawn to heavy dialogue scenes, and more afraid of descriptive scenes. This was experimenting into the things I am more drawn to, while my _other_ OUAT story, a Swan Song, is more description-heavy.

* * *

 **Part II**

The first and only tourists of Storybrooke, Emma and Lily, intended to break into the clock tower, but once the lock was picked, and the lights came on, Emma found herself curious about the books void of dust, suspended in time, trapped inside of the only library in the town. Their bug was hardly built for stealth, but they managed to peruse the entire town without meeting another soul.

It was becoming very unsettling for the duo. What were the chances of her _knowing_ the only person she met so far?

The entire library looked untouched, tidy, and absolutely _reeked_ of that new book smell.

Then it was Lily's head that began to hurt. "I feel like we just stumbled into a museum. Or, I guess a memorial. Like this was where Malcolm X played chess once, or where someone famous got axed or something. Can we just agree this place is effin' shaky?"

Emma dragged her index finger across the spines as she roamed the shelves. "Well, gang, it looks like we got another mystery on our hands."

"You can't have a gang of _two."_

"Well, if I'm going for relevant references, I'm sparing your pride by not calling you Watson."

"So considerate."

"I know, right? Try looking for something... local. A pamphlet or something. This whole town is suspicious, it's got to have a history."

"Of course it has a history. That's why the library was chained up and abandoned. You think this look like a town that steals books at night? Knowledge is priceless, but this is going overboard."

Emma tilted her head, stopping in her tracks. "Maybe it's not the books? Maybe it's the clocktower, or something else in here? I wouldn't be surprised if this was the only landmark this place has." She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I told Ingrid to meet us here, so if she does, she might be willing to tell us something."

"Considering she ran and hid from you, I doubt she'll be here," Lily muttered, understandably skeptical. So... is she, like, the person that gave you your powers?"

"No. I think she knew that I had these powers before we met, and wanted to adopt me to train me or something. Two peas in a pod, y'know?" Her voice was bitter.

Lily could tell she was distressed. She crossed her arms.

"Your powers were how she knew you, right? Having the same powers is a pretty flimsy excuse to adopt someone. I think she legit wanted you as her kid. You gotta admit, it's pretty sweet, and from the tone in your voice, you really wanted it." Her eyes shifted away as Emma turned to her. "You could've had a family, man."

"I already do," she muttered flippantly. "I met her, like, two weeks after the carnival invite. She's like a sister to me." She leaned back against the table, staring pointedly at her 'sister' with a serious expression. Then she chuckled. "Except when we're drunk."

Lily snorted. "Thanks, _sis_. Bring that up, why don't you?"

She waved it off, her other hand lingering on a rather large volume, in comparison to the books beside it. "Of all the books here, this one's got some dust on it. Like whoever specifically skipped this one while cleaning. Like they didn't know it was here at all."

Lily paid no mind, checking the row behind her. "Has this place ever even heard of the nineties? Not even one Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings book in the bunch. Think this is one of those super-religious book-burning towns?"

She tilted her head at the book's title. "I... don't think this is one of those towns." With delicate fingers, Emma opened the book to the first page. "Huh."

"I mean, it's not like those books _have_ to be in the library, it's just weird that a modern library wouldn't have it. I'm having a hard time looking for any fantasy books. I don't think there's a section for it. Small library. Mostly non-fiction and tragedies, and drama."

When she saw the cover of the book, Emma thought she would be disagreeing with the brunette. Flipping through the pages, however...

She slammed the book closed and held it underneath her arm. "We need to go. Take anything that looks interesting, and bring it with you. You're gonna want to hear this, and we need to hit the clock tower."

"Roger that... hold on..." quickly tapping through the shelf again, she picked up a title from the Tragedy section, and slid it into the inside of her red leather coat. She gave Emma a thumbs-up.

The blonde opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. "Let's go," she murmured, and the two headed to the back of the library, towards the spiral staircase.

* * *

The clock face was unchanged as they peered through the giant hands, overlooking the dimly lit town.

Lily _hated_ waiting. Popping a gummy bear in her mouth, she leaned against the railing. "Why are we invading these peoples' landmark again?"

"There's more to this place." She had the same, large tome in her hand again. Conveniently, her arm covered the title of the book. "You believe in fate?"

"I believe _we_ met for a reason. I'm starting to believe we came here for a reason, if that's what you're asking."

"What - um... what about fairy tales?"

"I feel like you're leading me." Emma squirmed under her narrowed eyes. "What aren't you telling me? What did I need to hear? What's going on with this town, Emma?"

The blonde's fingers fidgeted against the worn book, her thumb stroking against the thick pages, before she sighed. "There's a chance all of this could be one big elaborate TV show prank," she began. "And my birthday was _technically_ yesterday, but holy shit, a lot of work went into this, and you're the best friend ever if you had anything to do with it. Also, we've done and said so many things that you would've never wanted caught on camera, like peeing in cups, and talking about your adoptive parents, and – "

"Emma!"

"So there's no camera," Emma quickly continued, sighing in relief. "So this is probably real. That makes me feel... better?"

Lily held out the book she had picked from the shelves earlier. "Trade. Now."

* * *

"So I'm the daughter of an Evil Sorceress Dragon – and somehow, _you're_ the one with the powers."

"Is there a reason why you picked up _Oedipus Rex_?"

Lily ignored her. "And all of your evil was taken out of you and given to me? That's a new one. I mean, I'm a bad girl, but evil? And you're certainly not a saint."

"Lily."

"But, I guess, coming from the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, that's what you would expect. Holy shit, are your folks in for a surprise..."

" _Lily!_ "

She peeked up from her book. "Would ya quiet down? We're above a library, for God's..." her eyes shifted back to the book. "...Merlin's sake, I guess."

Emma scowled at her friend, slamming the book shut. "Lily, are you trying to tell me something?"

"Oh, the Oedipus book? I'm just giving you a little bit of light reading, before your MILF shows up." She flipped the page. "As your friend, I felt I should warn you. Cautionary tale, you could say."

She huffed. "Ingrid is _not_ my mom."

"So you admit that you wanna scream for her Ice Cream."

 _"No,_ I'm not – hold on. Are you _jealous?"_

"Oh, God no. Mistakes were made, we both admitted that. But I can still look out for you, right? As your sister?"

Emma tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. "Good. Because it was a fucking joke. It was a wink, and she sees me as a daughter. I think." She crossed her arms. "I mean, go for it. If Ice Queens are your thing."

Lily's dimples showed as she smiled. "Apparently, I'm royalty, so I guess she's not out of my league."

"Even though she's old enough to be _your_ mom."

"Look who's talking! Remember Cleo?" she teased, gesturing to Emma's jacket.

She rolled her eyes. "We're both wearing matching jackets."

"I wear this because it matches yours. You wear this because it _smells like her_."

"You're a little freak, you know that?"

She blinked sweetly. "Not all of us can be little Miss Charming."

"Princess Charming," Emma quickly corrected her, smiling. "So, you okay? Learning about all... that? Seem legit to you?"

The brunette sobered up quickly, pondering. "Even if it was a prank, I'd believe almost half of it. I mean, you have magic, so all of this isn't hard to conceive. But can I do it? Magic, I mean? Is it something that's unlocked one day, or do I have to do something for it? I mean, I know how you got your gift. Why didn't it happen to me, then?"

"I wouldn't overthink it," Emma tried to reason, though thinking back on the incident, her friend had a point. "Maybe it's been lying dormant? Maybe you're under a curse?"

The two were silent for a tense moment. The town that they were in – Storybrooke, Maine – obviously held more answers that they could have imagined, and the tiny little sea-side town with the broken clock was certainly not what it seemed.

"As the apparent Savior, it's my personal destiny to get you your magic powers." Emma stepped forward, and pinched the book out of her friend's hand. "But we still have a mystery on our hands, Scoob. If _Sarah's_ not here in the next ten minutes, we're going on a good ol' witch hunt."

 _Clack, clack, clack._

"That won't be necessary, ladies." _Clack, Clack._ "I'm sure the Ice Queen will make herself known shortly."

From the spiral staircase, she rose into view. Her heels echoed with each step, yet Emma had never seen anyone walk with such grace. Entrancing brown eyes locked onto Emma's captivated green. "Welcome to Storybrooke, Savior."

The Savior eyed the Queen with unabashed interest. "Queen Regina – if you don't mind the redundancy."

Her teeth shone in the darkness of night, feral. "You know your Latin. But please, I'm just a mayor here. It's... good to finally meet you."

Emma had no doubt that the statement was true, but she wasn't necessarily sure that it would be good for herself. Lily seemed to believe her, reaching out to grabe the blonde's arm.

Still, the night had just got a little bit more interesting.

Especially when she felt a bone-chilling draft surround her.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Feedback greatly appreciated. This story provides a sort of a mixed bag, in the style I wrote it.


End file.
